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Eating as a Family

How important is a “family dinner?”

This is one of the most surprising and helpful pieces of information I found.There’s been a ton of research that children who eat dinner with their parents are less likely to smoke, do drugs, or have eating disorders.But not that many families can eat together every day.Well, it turns out, the eating together is not what’s important, it’s the conversation, and there’s only 10 minutes of productive conversation every meal.The rest is taken up with “Pass the ketchup” and “Take your elbows off the table.”

So can’t have family dinner?Try family breakfast or gather at 8 pm for a bedtime snack.Even one meal a week has proven benefits.One of my favorite sections of the book is where I gathered a bunch of games that can enhance your kids’ identity, such as WHAT DO YOU KNOW? about your family history.The more kids know about their parents and grandparents, the more resilient they are.